Talk about starting young. Sterling Abernathy was just 13 when Rockin’ Acoustic Circus began touring.

At 18, Abernathy is a high school senior and a veteran of the music industry. He is the five-piece group’s mandolin player.

“The band consists of a mandolin, cello, fiddle, guitar and bass,” Abernathy said. “We’re all 18 to 23 now. The band has kind of grown into what it is. It was always a way of picking and having fun with my buddies.”

Even though he’s young, Abernathy is already considered a master of the mandolin.He has won several competitions and has been recognized as an “Outstanding Young Oklahoma Musician.”

Eric Dysart is the lead vocalist of Rockin’ Acoustic Circus and also plays fiddle. He is a three-time Oklahoma Junior State Fiddle Champ.

Emma Hardin sings and is a cellist. She received classical training at the Barthelmes Conservatory of Music in Tulsa.

The oldest member of the group, Adam Chaffins, is 23 and a graduate of Morehead State University in Kentucky. He plays bass, sings and writes music.

The group has a mentor in guitarist and music teacher Rick Morton, who saw that the young musicians had a real future in music. “He helped us put it together,” Abernathy said. “He also played with us until now. He doesn’t want to pursue travel full-time and we understand that, so we’re looking for a new guitar player.”

In addition to teaching fiddle, guitar and mandolin, Morton once won a national talent contest with Ronnie Dunn just before Dunn hit the big time with partner Kix Brooks. Morton toured with Dunn, opening for well-known artists such as Ricky Skaggs, George Strait and Kathy Mattea, and in 1994, he recorded with The Tractors.

Abernathy began playing guitar at age 7 and added mandolin at age 9 after his father took him to see Ricky Skaggs in concert at a bluegrass festival in Claremore, Okla. “I was playing guitar at the time but wasn’t playing what I wanted to play,” Abernathy said. “I hadn’t found my niche.

“After seeing Ricky Skaggs, I knew that was the kind of music I wanted to play,” he said. “I look back and I remember seeing them onstage, but can’t remember any particular one song, but that experience is what got me into bluegrass.”

The Rockin’ Acoustic Circus has recorded three albums. “The first two were not very serious, but our latest one is,” Abernathy said. “We’ve grown so much musically.

“The direction of our music changes every day,” he said. “It’s time for a new recording, so we’re looking for a producer and which studio we want to record at.”

Abernathy goes to school online. “That way, I’m not bound to doing school work from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.,” he said. “I can choose at what point I want to get it done. That gives me the opportunity to practice and play music.”

Touring and doing schoolwork don’t leave much time for socializing, but Abernathy doesn’t mind. “My personal social life is so consumed with music,” he said. “My friends all play.”

Future plans may or may not include college. “I know my next step is to move to Nashville,” Abernathy said. “Eric and I are looking for a place to live. As far as college goes, it’s a great learning opportunity, but I’m not sure where I’m supposed to be at this point.”

The upcoming performance at Randy Wood Guitars is a first for Rockin’ Acoustic Circus. “I’m super excited to meet Randy Wood,” Abernathy said. “I’ve played a lot of his mandolins, but we’ve never played his theater. It’s going to be a lot of fun.”